tree service rec? leaning pine and a dead oak by the house

Anybody in Conway got a tree guy they'd actually recommend? We've got a pine out back that's leaning more every time we get a decent wind, and a dead oak maybe 20 ft from the corner of the house. Neither one is coming down on its own schedule and I'd rather not find out in an ice storm 😬

Would like to get both gone before winter really sets in. A few things I'm wondering..

- who'd you use and were they fair on price
- ballpark cost for taking down a pine and an oak like that (I know it depends, just trying to not get ripped off)
- did they haul everything off or leave you a pile of logs to deal with. I'd honestly keep some of the oak for firewood but not all of it

Also if you know any local outfits that are properly insured please say so. Last time we had storms around here there were guys knocking on doors with a chainsaw and a truck saying they could do it today for cash, and no thanks. Would rather pay a local crew that's been around.

I'm all for supporting Conway businesses so happy to pay a little more for someone good. Thanks y'all 🙏

We had a big dead oak taken down over in Beaverfork a couple years back, paid somewhere around $900 I think, and that was with them hauling the limbs and chipping the brush. The logs they left unless I asked, so say up front what you want kept. A pine that's already leaning might run more since they have to be careful where it falls with the house so close.

Ask for a certificate of insurance and actually call the company on it. Anybody legit will send it without fuss. And don't pay cash up front to the door knockers, my neighbor got burned on that after the 2023 storm. Get two or three quotes if you can, the spread surprised me.

Wish I had a name for you, someone else will I'm sure.

Thanks Barb, that $900 number helps a lot. I was braced for way worse, so good to know where the floor is. Never would've thought to actually call the insurance company to check the certificate, but that makes total sense. Writing that down.

I'll tell them up front I want the oak logs. Dead oak splits and burns great if it hasn't gone punky, and I could use the firewood anyway. Pine they can keep lol.

Sorry to hear about your neighbor and the 2023 storm. That's exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to dodge. Gonna get 2-3 quotes like you said and hopefully somebody on here has a name 🤞

Dead oak is great firewood if it's been dead a year or two. If it's been standing dead for five, check it before you get excited. Stick a screwdriver in the trunk base. If it goes in easy and the wood is crumbly, you're hauling home a pile of punk that smokes and doesn't burn 😅 I've been fooled by that before.

Also ask whether they'll cut the oak into firewood lengths. Some crews will, some charge extra, and some just drop 6 ft rounds and leave you to it. Get it in the quote so nobody argues later. I'm kind of with Barb on the pine too. Leaning toward the house is a different job than a straight one, so don't let anyone quote it over the phone sight unseen.

If either one is anywhere near a power line, call Conway Corp first. Don't let a crew improvise around that.

Sorry, no name for you. The guy we used a while back has since retired. And if you end up with more oak than you can burn, stick a sign at the road. It'll be gone by Saturday. Firewood moves faster than anything I've ever put out at a yard sale.

Ha, the firewood-at-the-road thing is true. I put out a half cord of split oak one fall and it was gone before I got back in the house.

The screwdriver test is good. I'd add one more for Cameron: when they drop it, look at the ends of the rounds. If it's tight and kind of tan or reddish, with bark still holding, you're probably fine. If it's gray, stringy, or you can peel chunks off with your hand, it's punky and not worth hauling. I run an offset and I'm pretty picky about what goes in it. Dead standing oak that's been dead a year or two is honestly some of the best smoking wood around here, because it's already dried out standing up. Get a cheap moisture meter, like $15, and split a piece open to test the middle. Under 20% and you're good to go.

Whatever you do, keep the pine away from the smoker and the fireplace. Kindling at most. Resin and creosote, and it makes meat taste like a Christmas tree air freshener lol.

Also ask the crew to cut the oak at 16 inches or so. Easier to split and stack, and it'll fit a firebox without much trouble.

Justin's right about the pine. Burning it in the fireplace is also how you end up paying a chimney sweep to scrape out creosote you could've skipped. Let the crew chip it and be done.

One thing nobody's said yet, Cameron: don't sit on quotes for three weeks. A pine that leans a little more with every wind is usually the root plate slowly letting go, and that doesn't get better on its own. Those things tend to go on the one night the wind comes from the wrong direction. A dead oak 20 ft from the corner of the house is the same story once ice loads up the limbs. The forecast always says "a little ice" right up until it isn't, and then every crew in Faulkner County is booked solid for two weeks and the door knockers show up with their chainsaws.

So call your 2-3 outfits this week and get on somebody's schedule now, while they're still answering the phone. And if a guy can do it "today, for cash," he can also be gone tomorrow when the limb lands on your roof anyway.